Bivalent vaccines offer protection against more than one strain of a virus.
In both Canada and the US, COVID-19 vaccines are now available for just about everyone. Babies as young as 6 months old are now eligible for coronavirus shots. While just 18% of parents in the US say they will vaccinate their child under 5 against the virus, for some, especially those who have children with a compromised immune system or pre-existing conditions, the vaccine’s wide availability across almost all age groups is now seen as a blessing.
Young children tend to be able to fight off COVID-19 more readily than adults. Many people don’t feel the need for them to be vaccinated, but some children have died from the illness.
At the time of this writing, sadly over 1,300 children 0 to 18 in the US have died of COVID-19. In contrast, over 41,000 people aged 19-40 in the US have also died of the virus, and the numbers trend upwards with age.
Having a vaccine for all age groups brings us to the newest frontier in combating COVID-19: bivalent vaccines. What are these and what difference will they make? Here’s a look.
Bivalent vaccines mix multiple strains of a virus
According to Merriam Webster, “bivalent” is defined in chemistry as something that has a valence of two, and something that is capable of binding to two different molecules of an antigen. So far, the COVID vaccines now available have been offering protection against the original strain of the virus. They’ve also been helping us fend off some of the newer variations as well.
Related: Your not as likely to develop long term COVID with Omicron: study
Bivalent COVID-19 vaccines will be coming this fall. Representatives from Moderna say they appear to work at fighting off Omicron and its sub variants. Like annual flu shot, these vaccines will contain a mixture of multiple strains of COVID-19 instead of a single one. Flu shots tend to contain about three or four variations of the flu. These newer vaccines will target mutations in the spike protein that are helping the virus get in and infect even those who are presently vaccinated. It’s hoped this will provide us with added protection as the virus mutates to evade the present COVID-19 vaccines.
A fall vaccine blitz
Policy makers are said to now be preparing for a rollout of the bivalent COVID vaccines this fall. It’s a bit of a guessing game as to what may work and what won’t as the virus keeps mutating all the time. Experts say developing a new vaccine involves trying to predict what new variants will occur that don’t yet exist. The new booster will provide no guarantees but hopefully some help as northern countries settle into flu season in the run-up to the end of 2022. As with flu vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines are sure to be with us now for years to come.
For more information on the vaccine coming this fall, talk to your doctor to see if it may be right for you.
photo credits: siam.pukkato/Shutterstock.com
